police station

@β jaemin "You're not just anybody to me, Jaemin." Johnny mumbled softly, wiping at his eyes before finally turning to look at him. When the beta reached out to touch him, he waited with held breath, and he let out a shaky, disappointed sigh when he pulled away. As Jaemin opened the door, Johnny reached out to gently grab his wrist, eyes still wet as he gazed at him with nothing but honesty. "Jaemin...I'm yours now. You didn't claim me with a bite, but my heart, my soul, my /body/...it all belongs to you. But you don't belong to me. Even with that claim mark on your neck. You've never belonged to me, and you'll probably never belong to me, and that's okay."

@α johnny "I couldn't kill you. I wanted to, it would have been easy but I couldn't do it. Maybe it's because of this stupid ing mark or maybe it's because it's you. But I never felt enough rage to actually kill you. I don't know if I believe everything about you wanting to be with me for a long time before, but I believe now it wasn't just instinct. I don't know if it was much more than that but there was something that made you wait for me, even in your feral state, something that kept you from leaving my apartment and ing into the first thing you encountered." Jaemin's lips subconsciously formed into a pout at the idea of Johnny being with someone else. But he had been in jail for weeks and Johnny was around others, maybe he had gotten lonely maybe he would try to erase Jaemin's touches with someone else. Jaemin glanced at the alpha and gasped, finally getting to see the way he had carved into the other's skin. Jaemin didn't even recall that exact moment so much anger and betrayal coursing through his body he acted before he thought. Jaemin hesitantly reached out to touch the scar, in disbelief it was real that he had really done that. Jaemin withdrew his hand before it made contact with the alpha's skin and opened the car door, checking the side view mirror to make sure it was clear.

@β jaemin Johnny pulled up to Jaemin's apartment building and parked on the street, letting out a shaky sigh as he placed his hands in his lap. He knew that he was rather docile for an alpha, but he had always led with his heart. Sniffling softly, he brought up a hand to wipe at his eyes, voice breaking as he started to speak. "I wanted to do it right, you know. I wanted to do the courting thing, show you that I could be good enough to consider as your mate. And then I ed it up. I never wanted to /own/ you, I've never been that person. But with that claim on your neck, that bite mark that's so visible, I ended up doing it anyway. It kills me to know that I took away your choice, that I did what the stereotypical alpha does and just takes whoever they want without their consent. I almost wish that you had killed me, that day in your apartment, because then maybe it would have made up for the tiness of my actions."

@α johnny Jaemin listened, he didn’t want to but he couldn’t help it when Johnny’s voice was the only sound. Jaemin hadn’t even considered that Johnny might have gone feral. He was always walking a thin line and the omegas would pull him back. Jaemin could offer encouragement and support but he could never offer clarity and comfort the way they could the way Johnny needed. Maybe Jaemin had left the box of matches in sight allowing Johnny to start the fire that had burned them. Jaemin tried to think of who else but Johnny he could have mated, he couldn’t strip forever, he couldn’t sell forever, and after he had done all that he wanted who would accept someone else’s leftovers. But Jaemin didn’t want to belong to anyone, especially not an alpha, especially not without his explicit consent, not again. “This, us. Doesn’t make me happy, not the hating you, and not the mating you, not being angry with you or loving you. Nothing about us is the least bit satisfying and that ing , because before, everything about us was perfect. We were perfectly flawed.” Jaemin wiped his tears on the back of his sleeve finally looking up and noticing his apartment building coming into view. He bit his lower lip and contemplated inviting Johnny up to his place. His anger melting away into annoyance with the situation they were in more than anger with Johnny directly.

@β jaemin "I can't even put into words how guilty I feel about doing what I did." Johnny started, voice soft from how shy and nervous he was feeling. He knew that if he said something wrong, Jaemin wouldn't even bother listening and taking his words into consideration. "I ed up immensely, I know. I've been sick with guilt over taking advantage of you, I wanted nothing more than to take it back because I know you enjoy your freedom and I chained you to me without your consent." He let out a shuddering breath, refusing to take a hand off the wheel to wipe at his suddenly wet eyes—he didn't want to crash them on accident and put Jaemin in even more pain. "I've never been like that, not even as a human. I...I thought that becoming an alpha would be okay, that I could find a nice person, settle down, mate when they fell in love with me and wanted me around forever. And now...I wish I could go back and stop myself from doing it. Not because you're a mistake, because I would've chosen you anyway. You're—you /were/ so good to me even when I couldn't speak, when I was trapped in my own head. I couldn't help gaining feelings for you. And in my feral state, I took advantage of that. I never wanted to take your choice away from you."

@α johnny Jaemin wanted to shrug off Johnny’s touch but something kept him from doing so, Jaemin equated it to rationality, shaking off Johnny’s touch would require wasting effort on the man and he didn’t deserve any of Jaemin’s effort. He climbed into the passenger seat and stayed silent. “Talk.” He commanded. Jaemin used to like Johnny’s voice even with his stuttering and awkward intonation. But now as the man sat beside him speaking in full sentences with a rich and calming tone, Jaemin couldn’t think of any sound he liked less.

@β jaemin "My car is this way." Johnny spoke softly, swallowing heavily as he watched the other. Deeming it safe, he placed a hand on Jaemin's back and led him to the car, not saying a word until they got in and started driving. He hadn't covered his neck, and the characters of Jaemin's name carved over his scent gland were scarred over, obvious in the current lighting.

@α johnny Jaemin shook his wrist free from Johnny’s grasp, he hadn’t seen the other in weeks, and while Jaemin was wasting away in a cell Johnny seemed to be better than before his rut even. Jaemin wondered if the cut he made against the other’s skin had healed completely as well, and he was the only one left with any reminder of what had transpired. ”Not headquarters.” Jaemin said, he didn’t want to be questioned about his last arrest or be forced to endorse whatever lie Johnny had told. “Take me home. We can talk on the way there.” Jaemin didn’t want Johnny in his home, it was overwhelming enough going back there alone.

@β jaemin Johnny didn't care how much money it had cost him, he needed to talk to Jaemin. He had done wrong by claiming him without his permission, but he hadn't had a hold of himself since he had gone feral during rut. When Jaemin came out, Johnny bowed in thanks to the officers before rushing after him, calling out his name and grabbing his wrist. "Jaemin, /please/, can't we just talk?"

@α johnny Jaemin had been interrogated every day since he got to jail. The police tried different lines of questioning. “Did your mate make you upset? Couples get into arguments all the time, things can get heated and go too far.” Jaemin rolled his eyes, heated was a vast understatement of the rage he felt but he still remained silent. There was also his favorite for how pathetically it painted him, getting followed home and forcefully bonded having to defend himself and afraid to call the police. Jaemin wondered what today’s narrative would be. But before his interrogation arrived an officer came. “Your mate’s bailing you out.” Jaemin rolled his eyes in annoyance. ”I don’t have a mate.” He said. “Well you made bail so get out.” The man retorted opening the cell and escorting Jaemin to releases. When Jaemin saw who was standing there he sped out of the station walking without direction.

@ω donghun After the briefing began Dokyeom went back to his desk, having a few details to finalize in his donation drive, he had gotten through several phone calls and was satisfied his plan was coming together when there was an influx of people leaving the squad room.
'We don't have room to set up a bunch of desk for our new officers so until this thing over you'll be sharing. It'd be nice if our newest rookies would offer their spaces, you could learn something from the task force officers.' The lieutenant said which basically meant it was in order of seniority, even though Dokyeom had moved up through the ranks enough he wouldn't need to share his desk, he smiled and gestured for Donghun to come over.

@η dokyeom “It’s nice to meet you, DK.. Lee Donghun.”, he introduced himself to the other with a polite smile and a nod. The other really did seem like a good guy and Donghun was already looking forward to seeing him more often. Maybe they’d even end up working together, who knows? The last part did pique Donghuns interest though. He raised his eyebrows, clearly wanting to know more. “You have? Did you make progress with the whole situation going on in town? I can’t wait starting to work on that~” he took another sip of his coffee when suddenly the whole task force was called to follow a man Donghun didn’t know yet. He quickly turned back to Dokyeom one last time befire he had to go: “we’ll continue this talk later, I can’t wait to hear more and maybe we’ll even get to work together~ see you around, DK!” With that he quickly followed the group, turning to smile at Dokyeom one last time before he disappeared through a door.

[[we can make a time skip to afterwards

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@ω donghun “Yes, I’m detective Lee, but everyone around here calls me DK.” Dokyeom chuckled at his nickname. “The briefing should be starting soon, Chief isn’t exactly a morning person.” Dokyeom joked. He was intrigued by the officer, he imagined the members of the task force would be veteran officers, rough from years of work and taking things too seriously. But so far that didn’t seem to be the case. “I’ve actually been directly involved in some investigations of gang members so if you want some information about a particular incident or individual, maybe I could help.” Dokyeom wasn’t an expert but he didn’t want to appear completely useless.

@η dokyeom Donghun noticed the other male approaching him quickly as he was paying attention to his surroundings anyway, a habit of his that was more than useful. He greeted the other with a smile of his own, using his free hand to shake the one held out to him in a greeting. “Good Morning”, he sounded genuinely kind, glad that the other man was so open and approached him. He would remember his face. “Well, I’m currently waiting with my other teammates to be called in for the first briefing... im assuming you work here?” The man seemed so kind and honest and it was refreshing to see since he was young as well. The last department Donghun had worked at was full of older man that didn’t take their job seriously and let corruption slide like it was nothing. It left a bitter taste in Donghun a mouth.

@β jeno "I don't strip for money. I strip for control, for power, I like watching all these men with inflated egos and wallets, succumb to their primal desires. The money is just a bonus. And Jun doesn't pay me, I pay my self. I hope you don't think I'm just here for 'stress relief' for the other members of the gang, I'm not a toy. I see an opportunity, and exploit it for the benefit of the gang." Jaemin was slightly offended by what he thought were assumptions Jeno had made about it him, but he tried not to let it show.

"For example, the strip club, lets say I notice that the security guard that is responsible for the VIP area squints a bit, I test his vision through several lost objects of varying sizes and colors I ask him to help me find and realizes he's nearly blind. I arrange for several of our gang members with similar builds and looks to visit one night, and one of the VIPs gets robbed by them. The security guard is useless at identifying which one committed the crime, and they're all let go. But here the gang is offering protection for a price to the club so they don't lose their precious VIP customers. And I repeat this over and over again at different business, apartment complexes and parking structures until we control a whole section of the city."

@β jaemin Jeno nods at Jaemin's response, laughing a little. "I'd like to see you try. Doesn't Xiaojun pay you enough or is all that money for bailing you out, Jaemin?" He replies, shaking his head. "And isn't Xiaojun rich enough to give you money, right? Or just like,,, i don't know, theft? I haven't done that in a while. Pickpocketing would be an easy way to make money."

@β jeno "I'm dressed like a stripper in one of the worse neighborhoods in the entirety of Neo Soul of course people tried to harass me. But it's fine." Jaemin shrugged before smiling when Jeno patted his head. "Why were you going to protect me? I may not be an expert with a gun, but I'm not a damsel in distress. But I appreciate the sentiment." Jaemin was relieved that Jeno didn't seem to care about what people said. "I missed out on a lot of money tonight but the club owner forced me to take the rest of the weekend off to recover from my shock." Jaemin sighed. "Guess I should post on Instagram see if anyone wants to buy for the whole weekend." Jaemin walked along although he was distracted.

@β jaemin Jeno smiles at Jaemin using his phone to fake shoot at him. He pats Jaemin's head, making sure that people stay away from Jaemin. "Nobody tried to harass you while you were out here?" He asks, putting his phone into his back pocket. "And I really don't care what they think about me. The mouth grew on their mouth- not mine. I can't control it, so why bother thinking about what they think they know about me?"

@β jeno "I don't think you're a cold face killer, it's just what idiots who aren't worth naming say. I actually shouldn't even have repeated it. I'm not good with emotions either, it's okay. As long as you aren't hurting me, I consider your emotions functioning just fine." Jaemin shrugged as he sent the message, biting his lower lip and letting out a soft '.' before sighing in relief when Jeno came into view. Jaemin wasted no time taking the close and handing his phone to Jeno to hold while he slipped on the hoodie and sneakers. Jaemin took his phone back and pointed it at Jeno like a gun imitating the elder's expression before he fired his shot. "Bang." He said before smiling.

@β jaemin "Do you really think that I'm a cold face killer? Jaemin, I'm not good with emotions- why would i want to be?" He asks, still on his way, looking for the younger, eyes scanning the streets. Jeno keeps forgetting where the police station is- he probably should remember so he knows his way out. He sighs, before seeing the younger's second message. "Are you okay? I really doubt you'd be asking me that knowing i'm walking right now." He sends, rounding the corner, handing Jaemin the hoodie and sneakers.

@β jeno (moved us to the police station)

"Is the cold face killer of NCT showing concern? For me? I'm really shocked right now." Jaemin said. He had no worries about text sent between himself and the other members as Xiaojun had insured they had secure encryption across devices. "I'll stop getting arrested once I learn how to let things go. Promise. But I don't know when that'll be." Jaemin added as a disclaimer. He had given his statement to the police and was waiting near the corner outside the station for Jeno to arrive. Dressed like a stripper and hanging around seemingly mindlessly gave certain people an impression that Jaemin was a e. After several 'keep moving and I'm not working.' As kind strangers offered to give him a ride in exchange for whatever act he was willing to give Jaemin decided to message Jeno again. "Didn't encounter any traffic did you?" Jaemin's message came off like a joke but he was uncomfortable with the attention and wanted to be anywhere else.

@α donghun Dokyeom was one of the few officers looking forward to the task force presence, while most officers viewed it as a criticism of their competence. Dokyeom viewed it as an opportunity to do more for the community of Neo Soul, while others protected it. He had already planned a few outreach events for children as well a donation drive among officers in the department towards a shelter. He had come in early hoping to get a vibe of the new officers and see how his plans were progressing. Dokyeom approached an unfamiliar alpha officer with a smile and extending his hand for a shake. "Welcome, any trouble finding the precinct? It's a rather unassuming structure."

The ride from Busan to Seoul was long and tiring and Donghun was beyond glad that he had gotten a day off before he had to show up at the police station and start working. So the morning after came around and Donghun made sure to get up early enough for a quick morning jog, then getting ready and driving to the police station. Today the task force would be introduced to the new station and they’d be getting some briefings on current cases regarding gang activity. Donghun could wait to start chasing those bastards down so he hoped that the people at the station, the ones responsible for giving them their orders, would be honest and good working people that wouldn’t hold him back. Unlike the ones from the last police department he worked at.
He soon arrived and got out of his car, entered the building and soon found his colleagues, waiting to be called in for the briefing. Some other officers had approached them already, started talking to them to get to know them beforehand. Donghun decided to just stand there and enjoy his morning coffee.